BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) — On Wednesday, March 13, the House of Representatives approved a move that would give Tiktok ownership an ultimatum — give up control or face the banning of the app on U.S devices.

This comes after a former executive at the company said some officials in the communist party had access to the user data of American citizens. President Biden says if the bill is passed, he will sign it.

“I know that a lot of people are kind of having concerns about the privacy aspect of TikTok and what information it’s collecting from users to give them content that they’re interested in. Honestly, I find that it’s something that has kinda beneficial for marketing in general and I don’t see it as a huge problem,” said Alexis McCafferty, a senior at Virginia Tech.

However, Peyton Coleman, a sophomore and fellow Hokie, said she has removed the app from her phone due to safety concerns and future job opportunities.

“Lots of people are using it now to reach younger generations, but I think the safety concern is also there, so [I kind of see] both sides I guess,” Coleman said.

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Students in Blacksburg had mixed reactions on what that could mean for people who depend on the app like small businesses and content creators. One student said creators could use a different app with similar features.

“I just think there isn’t a lot of safety and privacy because you don’t know much about it, but also you can use other apps that are similar to it,” said Chloe Davis, a sophomore at Virginia Tech.

One student says businesses have a unique opportunity on the app to appeal to larger audiences.

“I think businesses for sure [are affected] because I definitely saw small businesses that wouldn’t have gotten people to see them if they didn’t get people on TikTok to come and review them,” said Marisa Cooke, a sophomore at the Blacksburg university.

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Professor and director of graduate studies with Virginia Tech’s School of Communication Cayce Myers said the future decision could set a precedent for other social media apps.

“One of the things that’s part of that bill is the ability to look at other platforms that may emerge in the future and decide if they are going to be banned or if they are going to be investigated or have parameters around them,” Myers explained.

The professor says while other apps like Instagram could benefit from TikTok being banned, questions about misinformation and the security of those apps could still arise. If Tiktok is banned, he said there could be a tough transition.

“I would also predict there’ll be First Amendment challenges to this and lawsuits. There have been states that have tried to ban this in the past and they have been taken to court. So we’ll see how that plays out,” Myers explained.

Myers said with bipartisan approval, even if the bill doesn’t pass this time, it will likely come up again.

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